Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has won the BBC’s Indian Sportswoman of the Year award for 2021
The Olympic silver medallist won the public vote, after becoming the the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at last year’s Olympic Games.
The 27-year-old finished second in the 49 kilogram category in Tokyo.
She says she was honoured to win the award, and has she eyes set towards this year’s Asian and Commonwealth Games.
Five nominees were selected by a panel of some of India’s most authoritative sports journalists, experts and writers. Chanu beat golfer Aditi Ashok, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, Paralympic shooter Avani Lekhara, and badminton player PV Sindhu.
She took a keen interest in weightlifting when carrying firewood to her home as a child.
“My brothers used to carry the wood in multiple trips. But I used to carry it all in one go.”
CHANU TOLD THE BBC
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie says Chanu is “a fantastic sportswoman and a deserving winner of the award”. The awards were presented in New Delhi.
